Activities	Research or study chemical composition and processes of living organisms that affect vital processes -- such as growth and aging -- to determine chemical actions and effects on organisms such as the action of foods, drugs, or other substances on body functions and tissues.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$76,320 per year in 2006
Work Context & Conditions	Biochemists work indoors, and they must perform their jobs accurately, with a lot of attention to detail and to completing every task. Usually, they work regular hours in offices or laboratories and are not exposed to unsafe or unhealthy conditions. Biochemists who work with dangerous organisms or toxic substances in the laboratory must follow strict safety procedures to avoid contamination.
Minimum Education Requirements	Bachelor's Degree
Skills	Learning Strategies, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Writing, Equipment Selection, Time Management, Active Learning, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Science
Abilities	Deductive Reasoning, Written Comprehension, Near Vision, Information Ordering, Inductive Reasoning, Written Expression
Interviews	David Belnap

Job Category		Life, Physical, & Social Science
Job Description		Biochemists study the chemical composition of living things. They analyze the complex chemical combinations and reactions involved in metabolism, reproduction, growth, and heredity. Biochemists and molecular biologists do most of their work in biotechnology, which involves understanding the complex chemistry of life. Specifically, they study the chemistry of living processes, such as cell development, breathing and digestion, and living energy changes, e.g., growth, aging, and death. Biochemists may conduct research and determine the chemical action of substances, such as drugs, serums, hormones, and food, on tissues. Biochemists examine chemical aspects of formation of antibodies; research chemistry of cells and blood corpuscles; and isolate, analyze, and identify hormones, vitamins, allergens, minerals, and enzymes. Biochemists develop and execute tests to detect disease, genetic disorders, or other abnormalities and develop methods to process, store, and use food, drugs, and chemical compounds. They also develop and test new drugs and medications used for commercial distribution, and prepare reports and recommendations based upon research outcomes. Biochemists clean, purify, refine, and otherwise prepare pharmaceutical compounds for commercial distribution, and analyze foods to determine nutritional value and effects of cooking, canning, and processing on this value.
Working Conditions		Biochemists work indoors, and they must perform their jobs accurately and with a lot of attention to detail and to completing every task. Usually, they work regular hours in offices or laboratories and are not exposed to unsafe or unhealthy conditions. Biochemists who work with dangerous organisms or toxic substances in the laboratory must follow strict safety procedures to avoid contamination. Some biochemists depend on grant money to support their research. They may be under pressure to meet deadlines and conform to rigid grant-writing specifications when preparing proposals to seek new or extended funding.
Salary Range		Median annual earnings of biochemists and biophysicists were $76,320 in 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $53,390 and $100,060. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $40,820, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $129,510. Median annual earnings of biochemists and biophysicists employed in scientific research and development services were $79,990 in 2006. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, beginning salary offers in 2007 averaged $34,953 a year for bachelor’s degree recipients in biological and life sciences. In the Federal Government in 2007, general biological scientists earned an average salary of $72,146.

Education Required		For biological scientists, including biochemists, the Ph.D. degree is usually necessary for independent research and for advancement to administrative positions. A master's degree is sufficient for some jobs in applied research or product development and for jobs in management, inspection, sales, and service. The bachelor's degree is adequate for some nonresearch jobs. Some graduates with a bachelor's degree start as biochemical scientists in testing and inspection, or get jobs related to biological science such as technical sales or service representatives. In some cases, graduates with a bachelor's degree are able to work in a laboratory environment on their own projects, but this is unusual. Some may work as research assistants. Others become biological technicians, medical laboratory technologists or, with courses in education, high school biology teachers. Many with a bachelor's degree in biology enter medical, dental, veterinary, or other health profession schools. Advanced degree programs in biochemistry include classroom and fieldwork, laboratory research, and a thesis or dissertation. Biochemists who have advanced degrees often take temporary postdoctoral research positions that provide specialized research experience. In private industry, some may become managers or administrators within biology. Others leave biology for nontechnical managerial, administrative, or sales jobs. Biochemists should be able to work independently or as part of a team and be able to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing. Those in private industry, especially those who aspire to management or administrative positions, should possess strong business and communication skills and be familiar with regulatory issues and marketing and management techniques. Those doing field research in remote areas must have physical stamina.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, Mathematics, Chemistry
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology
Certification and Licensing		None

Interest Area		Investigative Involves working with ideas and requires an extensive amount of thinking.
Work Values		Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Creativity Try out your own ideas. Independence Work alone. Security Have steady employment. Ability Utilization Make use of individual abilities. Activity Busy all the time. Autonomy Plan work with little supervision. Responsibility Make decisions on your own.
Skills		Learning Strategies Use multiple approaches when learning or teaching new things. Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Equipment Selection Determine the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Active Learning Work with new material or information to grasp its implications. Complex Problem Solving Solving novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information. Science Use scientific methods to solve problems.
Abilities		Deductive Reasoning Able to apply general rules to specific problems to come up with logical answers, including deciding whether an answer makes sense. Written Comprehension Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Near Vision Able to see details of objects at a close range (within a few feet of the observer). Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together. Written Expression Able to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Related Jobs		Biologist, Microbiologist, Biologist, Environmental Health Scientist, Scientist, Medical, Physician, Surgeon, Dentist, Biologist
Job Outlook		Employment of biological scientists is projected to grow 9 percent over the 2006-16 decade, about as fast as the average for all occupations, as biotechnological research and development continues to drive job growth. The Federal Government funds much basic research and development, including many areas of medical research that relate to biological science. Recent budget increases at the National Institutes of Health have led to large increases in Federal basic research and development expenditures, with research grants growing both in number and dollar amount. Nevertheless, the increase in expenditures has slowed substantially and is not expected to match its past growth over the 2006-16 projection period. This may result in a highly competitive environment for winning and renewing research grants. Biological scientists enjoyed very rapid employment gains since the 1980s—reflecting, in part, the growth of biotechnology companies. Employment growth should slow somewhat, as fewer new biotechnology firms are founded and existing firms merge or are absorbed by larger biotechnology or pharmaceutical firms. Some companies may conduct a portion of their research and development in other lower-wage countries, further limiting employment growth. However, much of the basic biological research done in recent years has resulted in new knowledge, including the isolation and identification of genes. Biological scientists will be needed to take this knowledge to the next stage, which is the understanding how certain genes function within an entire organism, so that medical treatments can be developed to treat various diseases. Even pharmaceutical and other firms not solely engaged in biotechnology use biotechnology techniques extensively, spurring employment increases for biological scientists. For example, biological scientists are continuing to help farmers increase crop yields by pinpointing genes that can help crops such as wheat grow worldwide in areas that currently are hostile to the crop. Continued work on chronic diseases should also lead to growing demand for biological scientists. Biological scientists held about 87,000 jobs in 2006. In addition, many biological scientists held biology faculty positions in colleges and universities but are not included in these numbers. About 39 percent of all biological scientists were employed by Federal, State, and local governments. Federal biological scientists worked mainly for the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Defense and for the National Institutes of Health. Most of the rest worked in scientific research and testing laboratories, the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry, or colleges and universities.
More Information		Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, American Institute of Biological Sciences
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Biological Scientists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos047.htm O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/19-1021.01